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latex-full: The Ultimate Claude Code Skill for LaTeX
One install covers 12 skills: all 9 LaTeX workflows plus all 3 FormatEx API skills. Fix errors, write markup, compile, and build integrations from one place.
If you write LaTeX documents and build PDF generation systems, you already know the tax: cryptic compiler errors, forgotten command syntax, hours spent on bibliography formatting, and then a completely separate mental context switch when you need to wire up the FormatEx API. Until now, you were either copying snippets from Stack Overflow, installing separate tools for separate problems, or just accepting that LaTeX tooling was going to be painful. The latex-full Claude Code skill eliminates all of that with a single install — 9 LaTeX skills and 3 FormatEx API skills bundled into one meta-skill that covers every workflow from writing markup to deploying production PDF pipelines.
What Is latex-full?
latex-full is a meta-skill for Claude Code that combines the complete latex skill bundle with the complete formatex skill bundle. Instead of installing individual skills for specific tasks, you get a unified AI assistant that understands the full stack: authoring LaTeX documents, debugging compilation errors, typesetting math, managing citations, scaffolding document structures, and calling the FormatEx compilation API.
It is the power user install. If you occasionally write a LaTeX document and nothing else, the individual skills are fine. But if you are building a PDF generation service, writing academic papers while also maintaining the pipeline that compiles them, or onboarding a team to both LaTeX and the FormatEx API, latex-full is the correct starting point.
The skill ships from the same latex-skills GitHub repository that hosts all the individual and meta-skills.
How to Install
Installation is a single copy command:
cp -r skills/latex-full ~/.claude/skills/That is it. No package manager, no configuration file, no environment setup. After copying, Claude Code picks up the skill automatically on the next invocation.
If you want just the LaTeX authoring skills without the FormatEx integration:
cp -r skills/latex ~/.claude/skills/If you want just the FormatEx API skills:
cp -r skills/formatex ~/.claude/skills/To get everything — which is what most power users want — run the latex-full install above. It is equivalent to installing both meta-skills but resolves as a single unit so Claude Code does not load redundant context.
What latex-full Does
When you invoke a skill from latex-full, Claude Code gains deep, structured knowledge across two domains:
The 9 LaTeX Skills:
- Fix compilation errors — diagnose and resolve
pdflatex,xelatex, andlualatexerror messages. Covered in depth at /blog/latex-skill-fix-errors. - Write markup — generate correct LaTeX syntax for tables, figures, lists, cross-references, and custom environments. See /blog/latex-skill-write-markup.
- Math equations — typeset inline and display math, align environments, theorem blocks, and complex notation. Details at /blog/latex-skill-math-equations.
- Document structure — scaffold complete documents with proper preambles, section hierarchies, and package selections. Covered at /blog/latex-skill-document-structure.
- Citations and bibliography — manage BibTeX, BibLaTeX,
natbib, and citation styles across disciplines. See /blog/latex-skill-citations-bibliography. - Explain commands — get plain-English explanations of unfamiliar packages and commands. Covered at /blog/latex-skill-explain-commands.
- Tables — generate complex multi-column, multi-row, and longtable layouts.
- Beamer presentations — create and fix slide decks with themes, overlays, and transitions.
- TikZ diagrams — generate vector diagrams, flowcharts, and figures using TikZ and PGF.
The 3 FormatEx Skills:
- Compile documents — send LaTeX source to
https://api.formatex.io/api/v1/and retrieve compiled PDFs using your API key. - Create templates — scaffold reusable LaTeX templates optimized for the FormatEx compilation pipeline.
- Build integrations — generate client code for connecting your application to the FormatEx API, across languages and frameworks.
Together these 12 skills mean Claude Code can assist you from the moment you write \documentclass to the moment a PDF lands in your user's browser.
Before and After: A Realistic Example
Before latex-full:
You are building a SaaS feature that generates invoice PDFs from user data. Your workflow looks like this:
- Open a LaTeX template file and manually adjust column widths until the table stops overflowing.
- Hit a
! Undefined control sequenceerror. Open a browser, search the error, read three Stack Overflow answers, find the missing package. - Realize your BibLaTeX citation style is wrong for the appendix. Spend 20 minutes reading the
biblatexdocumentation. - Write a Node.js function to call the FormatEx API. Copy a curl example from Getting Started with FormatEx, translate it manually to
fetch, debug a missing header. - Test the whole pipeline. The PDF compiles but the font rendering is wrong on the server because the engine is
pdflatexand you needxelatexfor your font. Go back to the API call and change the engine parameter.
Total time: 90 minutes for what should have been 15.
After latex-full:
You open Claude Code and describe what you need. The skill handles the table layout fix, identifies the missing package from the error message, corrects the citation style, and generates the FormatEx API call with the correct engine, headers, and error handling for your language. You review, adjust, and ship.
The skill does not replace your judgment — it eliminates the lookup tax. Every piece of knowledge that normally lives in browser tabs and PDF documentation is surfaced inline, in context, while you work.
Common Use Cases
1. Academic researchers building their own compilation pipeline
You write papers in LaTeX and want to automate compilation as part of a CI workflow. latex-full helps you author the documents themselves — fixing errors, formatting equations, managing references — and then helps you integrate the FormatEx API so your pipeline compiles via API instead of requiring a local TeX Live install on every machine.
2. SaaS developers adding PDF generation
Your application needs to generate formatted PDFs — invoices, reports, certificates, contracts. You need LaTeX templates that work reliably with the FormatEx compilation API. The skill scaffolds templates optimized for the API, generates client code in your backend language (see the Go client guide, PHP/Laravel guide, and Ruby on Rails guide), and helps you debug compilation errors before they reach production.
3. Teams onboarding to LaTeX for the first time
A technical writing team switching from Word to LaTeX faces a steep learning curve. With latex-full, team members can ask Claude Code to explain unfamiliar commands, generate correct markup for complex layouts, and get document structures scaffolded correctly from day one — without needing a LaTeX expert on the team.
4. Serverless PDF pipelines
If you are building a serverless PDF generation function — AWS Lambda, Vercel Edge, Cloudflare Workers — you cannot install TeX Live in the runtime. The FormatEx API solves the infrastructure problem. The latex-full skill helps you build both the LaTeX templates and the API integration code. The serverless AWS Lambda guide walks through the pattern in detail, and the skill knows that pattern by default.
5. Thesis and dissertation authors
Long-form academic documents in LaTeX involve complex chapter structures, multi-file projects, custom bibliography styles, and institution-specific formatting requirements. The skill handles all of it — from initial document scaffolding to fixing the final round of compiler warnings before submission.
How latex-full Relates to Individual Skills
latex-full is a superset. Every capability available in the individual skills listed below is available in latex-full, plus the FormatEx API skills on top:
- Fix LaTeX errors — diagnose and resolve compiler output
- Write LaTeX markup — generate correct syntax for any element
- Typeset math equations — inline, display, and aligned environments
- Structure documents — preambles, sections, multi-file projects
- Manage citations — BibTeX, BibLaTeX, citation styles
- Explain LaTeX commands — plain-English documentation inline
If you only need one of these areas, install the individual skill. If you need more than two or three, latex-full is cleaner — one install, no overlap management, no missing context when a task crosses skill boundaries.
Related Skills
- latex meta-skill — all 9 LaTeX authoring skills without the FormatEx integration:
cp -r skills/latex ~/.claude/skills/ - formatex meta-skill — all 3 FormatEx API skills without the LaTeX authoring skills:
cp -r skills/formatex ~/.claude/skills/ - Individual skills — available in the latex-skills repository if you want surgical installs
Get Started
Install latex-full in one command:
cp -r skills/latex-full ~/.claude/skills/Browse all available skills at github.com/formatex/latex-skills.
If you are new to the FormatEx API, start with Getting Started with FormatEx — it covers authentication, your first compilation request, and plan limits. The full API reference and language-specific guides are at formatex.io.
The skill is free. The FormatEx API has a free tier with 15 compilations per month — enough to evaluate the full workflow before committing to a paid plan. If you are building a production PDF pipeline, the Developer and Pro plans cover the volume most teams need from day one.
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